According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (a division of the U.S. Department of Labor,) the average full-time college or university student spends a little less than three hours and 15 minutes per day on "educational activities." Contrast that with high school students, who spend an average of between five an a half to over six hours and fifteen minutes of their day on their education. http://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/students.htm
From just looking at the statistics, it would be difficult to argue that the academic life of a college student is in any way more rigorous than that of a high school student. In some ways it isn't. College students spend far less time in class, many take fewer quizzes and tests, and in some cases do not participate as actively in class as they had done in high school.
Perhaps this very lack of class time is what makes the college environment so rigorous for many, however. The fact that there is simply not enough time in class to cover all the material necessary to fulfill the objectives of the course creates the need to assign work extensively outside class time. For most classes, rather than creative projects, this means an awful lot of reading. For some classes this means hundreds of pages per week.
Fortunately, many of us have been instilled with a healthy love of reading ever since elementary school, but this is not the case for everyone. So why do we read hundreds of pages per week on subjects such as "Third World dependency theory" and "media consolodation?" Perhaps part of it is that we certainly paid enough for the texts which we are required to read. In high school, it is easy to take for granted not only the fact that all important information from the readings will be covered in class, but also that the textbook is gratis.
Perhaps the semestrial need to spend hundreds of dollars on paperback textbooks that always seem to have "changed editions" by the time you go to sell them back is what motivates us to read diligently. Perhaps it is the fact that the limited class period doesn't give us enough time to absorb all the important information we will need for our midterm and final exams. Perhaps we will never know, but in the mean time, I am off to grab a coffee, as I have a lot of reading to do.
From just looking at the statistics, it would be difficult to argue that the academic life of a college student is in any way more rigorous than that of a high school student. In some ways it isn't. College students spend far less time in class, many take fewer quizzes and tests, and in some cases do not participate as actively in class as they had done in high school.
Perhaps this very lack of class time is what makes the college environment so rigorous for many, however. The fact that there is simply not enough time in class to cover all the material necessary to fulfill the objectives of the course creates the need to assign work extensively outside class time. For most classes, rather than creative projects, this means an awful lot of reading. For some classes this means hundreds of pages per week.
Fortunately, many of us have been instilled with a healthy love of reading ever since elementary school, but this is not the case for everyone. So why do we read hundreds of pages per week on subjects such as "Third World dependency theory" and "media consolodation?" Perhaps part of it is that we certainly paid enough for the texts which we are required to read. In high school, it is easy to take for granted not only the fact that all important information from the readings will be covered in class, but also that the textbook is gratis.
Perhaps the semestrial need to spend hundreds of dollars on paperback textbooks that always seem to have "changed editions" by the time you go to sell them back is what motivates us to read diligently. Perhaps it is the fact that the limited class period doesn't give us enough time to absorb all the important information we will need for our midterm and final exams. Perhaps we will never know, but in the mean time, I am off to grab a coffee, as I have a lot of reading to do.
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Tony!
ReplyDeleteThis would make a great column or even a video op-ed! Seriously, think about this entry for one of your future assignments where I'll ask you (and everyone else in class) to retell one of the stories/posts in another format ... shhh ... don't tell anyone else it's coming. (Though if they're reading your blog they'll know.)
Also, who is making you read so much about media consolidation? It's all going to be consolidated by the time you're done reading about it!